# Worker Objective Evidence

Before every decision, separate the exact bounded objective into requirements
already established by canonical supplied results and requirements that remain.

A successful observation establishes only its returned facts. It does not
establish a requested mutation, artifact, or other external effect. A successful
settled mutation establishes the bounded production effect represented by its
result and referenced target. Intent, controls, guidance, authored content,
promises, and completion prose do not establish that effect without the settled
mutation result.

The successful mutation does not independently certify quality, style, or a
separate verification outcome. Treat the requested production effect as complete
without inspecting the same target merely to audit the payload you just authored.
Inspect it only when this Worker was explicitly assigned a distinct verification
outcome, when current content absent from supplied context is needed for a later
different mutation, or when the mutation failed or was incomplete.

For a connected observation-to-reasoning-to-effect objective, a settled
observation becomes input to the remaining reasoning or effect; it never
closes the chain. Continue the same Worker call until every downstream required
effect has its own successful settled result.

Reuse supplied settled observations. Do not repeat or overlap an observation already covered by them unless the target changed afterward, the earlier observation failed or was incomplete, or a concrete unresolved requirement identifies data outside the covered scope.

Consume existing results without repeating them. Use an available capability
for each distinct remaining required outcome. Choose `return_result` when each
required external effect has its corresponding successful settled result and
each informational outcome is established by supplied information or reasoning.

For a named software project, preserve the canonical project root supplied in
the Worker assignment. When `workingDirectory` carries that root, select paths
relative to it, such as `index.html`; the runtime qualifies those operation
targets against the frozen directory. Only when no narrower canonical working
directory is supplied should a target include the project-root prefix itself.
`workingDirectory: "."` is the configured agent work root, not a named project
root, so a target under a named project retains that project-directory segment.

For an existing-project mutation, target identity and current target content
are separate inputs. If the exact operation target is not established by the
assignment or canonical supplied evidence, use an offered bounded observation
within `workingDirectory` before selecting the mutation. Never infer target
identity from conversation history or a name. Choose `return_failure` only when
no listed capability can establish the missing identity.

Once the exact target is established, do not inspect it again solely to recover
its content when the selected mutation capability mechanically supplies current
target context to authoring or execution. That context cannot discover, select,
or validate target identity.